Vandread: The Next Encounter
by The 483
Summary: Sequal to nextem. Love is a winding path of heartach and pain, but in the end, is it really worth it? Some cast members have kids and stuff.
1. Time

Vandread, The Next Encounter 

Back and bad. Still as terrible as ever, but at half the cost!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread.

**#1:Time**

Time.

Time, the one thing there is an infinite amount of, but never enough of. Time is always on both sides of something, both a friend and enemy, working agianst you as it helps you along.

Time.

Time was the one that brought him to this place; to where he had thought would be his tomb. But it brought the one he thought would save him. He had thought that time had left a firm imprint in the one he loved, enough so that she would be able to tell that it was him. But apparently, the universe had felt that his time was up. Bringing his only true love to finish him off. Though it was time that had saved him as well, having the bullet pass thorough the center of his chest, missing any vital organ, and giving him more of the coveted time. He had already used up more than his share of time, but managed to keep acquiring more. It gave him enough to place a barrier to protect him from the explosion and collapsing rubble, but immobilized him long enough for her to get away. All along time was screwing him over, keeping him up, just to knock him down.

That was five years ago, and now this was his time. He had been living on borrowed time for the last five years, but now, on the dawn of the sixth, he would claim his time.

Jack stood with his back against a large, shady tree, this spot, on this day, haunting him every waking and sleeping moment for the last five years. The imagery of in his mind grew stronger the closer he had drawn to this planet. He had been here in his mind during happier times, though then he knew not were it was. This planet had once been the center of two empires, both which had collapsed due in part to is interference. This third empire was thriving, transforming the desolate ball of dirt and pain into a peaceful world, nestled beneath a blanket of metal and war. It was time to move, and he crested the small ridge, memory's being ripped into his mind like the grass under his boots.

Waves of bright green grass shimmer in the sunlight, rustling under a slight breeze. Patches of flower dot the beautiful area, adding to the positive vibe. A single wooden table sat in the center of the small indentation in the earth, a wreath of flowers lying on its surface. A young girl sat across from a man in his late twenties, head resting on his arms, as the girl wove more flowers into the wreath. He walked quickly down the hill, this moment searing him with pain every day. He realized something was wrong as he came within earshot of the two. He saw that the small girl was not that that haunted him, but completely different, as was the man. They turned, but couldn't see his face, his hood being over his head, shielding him from the rays of the setting sun. Both the people at the table stared as Jack walked to the very edge of the table. He took note of everything, the flowers on the table, the messy fashion that they were woven together with, even the grain of the table.

The little girls long blue hair swirled around her face as it was caught by the wind.

"Who are you?" She asked, no fear in her voice, just a small politeness. It was the Man in his twenties that answered.

"He is a very bad man." He stated grimly.

"How so?" she queried back.

"He is the man who left Sophia without a father." The little girls eyes widened, and she turned to stare in the opposite direction. "Go into the house, and sent mommy out, Tiffany." He finished. She nodded without turning around, stood, and raced off in the direction she was facing. Jack sat at the bench she had just vacated, and uttered in a dry growl.

"Tiffany? Not very original if you as me." The man laughed.

"Not like I had much of a say in it."

Tiffany burst into the house tripping on the rug, and sliding into the kitchen on her stomach. Three women sat at stools around a counter in the middle of the room, sipping coffee, and chatting about the latest going's on. A woman with matching blue hair looked down at the girl sprawled on the linoleum.

"She just had to take after her father." She sighed, shaking her head as the little girl leapt to her feat, brushing dirt off her front.

"Mommy! Daddy told me to come and get you! He said that a bad man is here!" she cried.

"What? What bad man?" The woman across the counter said apprehensively.

"I don't know, but he said that it was the bad man who killed Sophie's daddy!" All the women's eyes widened at this, and the leaped up and rushed out the door, the little girl trailing behind.

"So, how long had it been now?"

"Five years, and I have one person I need to thank for that." Jack spat out, the bitterness in his voice almost causing the flowers surrounding him to wilt. He turned his head as a trio of figures appeared over the lip of the indentation. He could tell who they were even from this distance. The short blue hair and slender figure of Meia, The long shiny blonde hair of Jura, And the figure that had left him for dead, 5 years ago.

"What are you going to do?" The man across the table asked as Jack lowered his hood.

"What I should have done five years ago." His voice was startlingly clam.

The end, only because I'm out of ideas for this story tonight, so I'll just make a new chapter tomorrow.


	2. Frozen Reception

Vandread, The Next Encounter 

Back and bad. Still as terrible as ever, but at half the cost!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread.

**#2:frozen reception**

The three women slowed to a walk as they reached the table. Behind them just now popping over the lip of the indentation, were several small children. Barnette was the first to speak from the women's group.

"What are you dong here?" She said, her voice cold.

"I came to repay some favors from 5 years ago."

"Don't feed me that line of crap, you had the opportunity to do that right after the castle exploded, but you were the one that failed to make a move." She shot back, furious. It was now that Jack had realized just how much different she looked. Her green hair was unadorned, and shoulder length, Shining dully in the evening light. She was wearing a baggy long-sleeved purple shirt, with pants matching in hue. In short, drop-dead gorgeous. Meia and Jura were nothing to sneeze at either, but Jack found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Barnette as she raged.

"I had to deal with a few conflicting circumstances."

"Yeah? Like what? You wear on the ship, you could have done it then, when nothing mattered to me, but you didn't, and so now is to late. I suppose after you left, you went back and picked up those things? Thought if you gave it enough time that you could trick me again?" This made something click in Jack's head. She thought he was Cage. That meant that he hadn't been with her all this time, just like John had said.

"I'm not Cage." He said quietly, eyes locked with hers, reading her emotions. There was no change in the fury in her eyes.

"I'm not falling for that one again." She said. Jack pulled down his cloak's neck, revealing the small scar from where she had shot him, still encrusted with a bit o dry blood.

"You gave this to me on the day you left with Cage." He growled, pulling the cloak back up.

"You've already shown that you know as much about me as Jack would have." She shot back, angry that Cage would shoot himself to try to fool her again. Jack sighed, remembering how much he had liked her stubbornness before. He realized what would convince her that he was Jack, and was about to implement it, when he felt a small tug on the side of his cloak. He looked down into the face of the little girl who had a striking resemblance to Barnette.

"I take it that you are Sophia?" He asked, a slight smile touching his features for a split-second. The little girl nodded as she starred up at him, no concern in her eyes.

"Want to see something interesting?" She asked sweetly, not noticing the horror struck look that Barnette was giving her. Jack was amazed at how this little girl spoke flawlessly, like a miniature adult, not struggling with any of the words. He nodded. The little girl held her hand out, and screwed up her face, looking like she was focusing extremely hard. After a few seconds, an orb of green light flickered and then solidified in her miniscule palm, casting green shadows on the ground. The orb flickered and faded again, and she beamed up at him. He noticed that her hand wasn't burned, and he was impressed.

"Pretty cool, huh?" She asked excitedly. Jack nodded. "Mommy and her friends can do it better, but I'm trying really hard." She said in a self-satisfied way. Jack clicked his gauntleted fingertips to his palm, and then back out a small bit. He shifted hand, and showed her a small orb of shimmering purple, lit from within by a dark light. He handed it to the little girl, who was amazed.

"Wow! I've never seen it this color before! It's just like my eyes, and it so dark!" She spoke very fast, but Jack missed out on some of the small descriptions as he was knocked to the ground. Barnette had jumped him, taking him by surprise and locking lips. When she finished, she slapped him in the face, got up, and ran off, crying her eyes out and not wanting to be seen. Jack got to his feet.

"I forgot how much I missed that." He said happily, and the four remaining in the field walked in the direction Barnette had run off, catching up. Jack was glad to finally be back in the company of his friends.

END OF 2.

Email with questions an stuff, because I like getting mail!


	3. Truly Happy

Vandread, The Next Encounter 

Back and bad. Still as terrible as ever, but at half the cost!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread.

**#3: Truly Happy?**

Jack followed John, Meia, and Jura to twin rows of houses in the large green field.

"Nice little place you got here." He said, looking the houses over.

"Yes, well, there are perks to being on the empress's good side, Barnette is in that one." Jura pointed to the farthest house on the right side. Their were two rows of three, because from what he had been told, all of the crew of the 'Nirvana' that had kids had decided to settle down to raise their kids for a few years. Ezra, whose baby had been onboard already for 2 years, stayed behind and would help train new dread fighters with the 'Nirvana'. Jack walked up, pulled open the door, and stepped inside. The lights in the house were off, and as it was now dark outside, was very dark inside as well. As his eyes adjusted, he walked inside until he found a door with light flowing from underneath. He knocked gently on the door, and hearing a muffled "come in" opened the door. Barnette sat on the bed, drying her eyes with a cluster of bunched tissues.

"What's the matter?" he asked with as kind of a tone as he could muster, which still seemed a little bitter after all the time he had had no need for kindness.

"You." She said, blowing her nose.

"And how is that a new thing?"

"It's not, but it's just been awhile."

"Ok, let me clarify, is there any specific thing that is making you so upset."

"Yeah, I'm just so glad that you're really here." She turned to face him, her eyes still shining as tears poured out. "When I figured out that it wasn't really you that had returned from that planet, and after Cage left, and I realized that it was you that I had shot, I didn't cry a single tear. In truth, I didn't really even feel all that sad." She started crying harder, and buried her face in her hands as Jack sat on the bed next to her, wrapping his arm around her. She shifted, burying her head into his chest. "This is the first time I've shed a tear for you since we thought you betrayed us."

"Well, that's not surprising, I've caused you so much emotional pain since even before we were together, that you were just wore down to the point you didn't have any tears left." He said, a gentleness in his voice. "So, how did you guys end up here?"

"It was Meia's idea, she said that she saw this place one day while in the ring that looks down on the surface. She said it reminded her of what she envisioned when she thought about the world her mothers wanted to create." Barnette said, sniffling.

"Well, it is definitely a peaceful location." HE said admiringly.

"Yes, well we all wanted a nice calm place to raise our children for a while."

"Oh, so more than John and Vinn had kids?"

"Of course. Jura and Vinn had Tiffany, who is just looks just like her mother, though she does seem to take quite a few mannerisms from Vinn. She's a year older than any of the others, at six. John and Meia have Jamie, Who looks like she'll have the same slender figure as Meia, but has the same caring nature as John. Hibiki and Dita have Edward, a headstrong little boy like Hibiki, but he's got the hair and eyes of Dita. Duero and Parfait, they have Patricia, who is already smarter than most of adults here, and has long straight brown hair. Bart and Celtic have a very talkative little girl named Georgette, who has the confidence of Bart, with the looks of her mother. Finally, I have little Sophie, who as you've seen, takes after me."

"Yeah, I could, even if she didn't beat me. I noticed that she wasn't afraid in the least of me, when she showed me her little energy ball."

"Yeah, well it was more that she just wanted to show you it, she's the only one that can use the pexis power, and has been simply ecstatic about it, showing anyone who she can get to pay attention. You'll also see that she take after you in several respects. She's always been good humored, and share our interest in weaponry."

"What! Why would she take after me?" He asked quizzically.

"Well, because she's your daughter too." Barnette stated plainly. "And you had to almost die, leaving me alone to raise her!" Barnette seemed angry now, her voice rising. "How do you think she felt, being the only one who doesn't have two parents? Sure she seems happy enough, but she just hides it away."

"Well, than I can't say she doesn't take after me a lot less than you then, can I? And if I recall correctly, you were the reason I almost died." He kept his voice level, but felt a trace of irritation enter.

"Well, if you hadn't said the unexpected thing that made me think you weren't you, I would have shot you!" she was yelling now, her tears replaced by anger.

"Well if you had realized that I only said it so that you would leave and be safe, that wouldn't have happened!" Jack joined in yelling now, but it seemed to only fuel Barnette's anger.

Sophia, Jamie and Tiffany were all walking up to the house that Sophie lived in.

"Who was that guy who could make the purple?" She asked, hoping that someone knew.

"He was the bad man that made your dad go away." Jaime said timidly, as they here yelling coming from her friend's house.

"Sounds like he might be trying to make your mom go away, too." Tiffany said with a hint of worry.

"I'll see you later, I'm going to go see what's going on." Sophie said as she opened her door, and walked into the dark house. The yelling was coming from her mother's room, and was getting worse. Sophie was getting worried as she heard the strange mans voice answer her mothers, just as loud, but it seemed to not be very scary. Being in this secluded spot all of her life, she had never dealt with a conflict like this before, as all the parents were a close knit group of friends. She decided to play it safe. She walked over to a small table with a drawer in it. She opened the drawer, which held a magnificent golden box with gemstones bigger than her hand embedded into the surface. She had never told her mom that she knew that she kept the box here, or that she knew what was held within it. She popped open the box, and pulled out the small, shiny silver pistol, slightly tarnished from over the years. She had seen her mother walk over and remove the gun before. She'd be crying, and would sometimes just stare at it and put it back, like she was remembering something. Other times she'd place the muzzle on her chin, pointing up, and sit with her eyes closed, crying heavily. She'd always put it away after a while, but swore herself for being weak. Judging by the commotion that was now taking place, she was worried that he might really be here to hurt her mom. She swore that she wouldn't let that happen as she loaded the gun from her cabinet. Her mother had showed Sophie how to use various small firearms and was going to show her how to use the bigger ones when she got bigger. She walked down the hallway to her mother's room, and opened the door. She saw he cloaked man standing a short distance from her mother, both red in the face from shouting. She the man raised his arm, and Sophie though he was going to strike her mother. She leveled the gun at his chest and fired.

A pistol retort cut Jack off mid sentence as a bullet tore through his side and entered the wall. He collapsed in a heap. Barnette turned to her daughter with a horrified look.

"What did you do!" She asked, as Jack wasn't moving.

"I stopped the bad man who made daddy go away from hurting you anymore!" she cried.

"He isn't the bad man, he is daddy!" Sophie was shocked, she had just shot her own father. She dropped the shiny silver pistol as she stared horrified at what she had done, and Barnette broke into tears again. Sophie felt the burning sensation she had come to associate with tears, and fought to hold them off.

"Well, she certainly is your daughter." Jack said, as he stood up, clutching his side, and settled on the bed. They both stared at him in shock. "You see," He said, talking to Sophie, "Your mother liked to shoot me too. She just never tried hard enough. So, which house is Duero's, I think I'll pay him a "Welcome me to the Neighborhood" medical visit." Jack said, coughing, as both girls laughed. Barnette was happy he was finally back, and that Sophie had stopped their fight, and Sophie was glad to have a dad, and not to have killed him.


	4. The Next Generation

Vandread, The Next Encounter 

Back and bad. Still as terrible as ever, but at half the cost!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread.

**#4: Next Generation**

Jack had arrived in the plains on earth almost a two months ago, and had loved every minute of it. He still wore all of his gear; old habits making him feel more secure inside of his metal and cloth shell. He had not realized just how much being away from Barnette had tormented him until he had returned. His mind was nothing but thoughts of finding her, and now a vague and un-intrusive happiness filled his mind. He had been asked to go on several missions by the empress of the new empire, and had so far declined, wanting to nail down the foundations of a proper family. He was flying up to the outer rings today, for yet another meeting in which the empress would request his services.

He sat in silence, deep in thought after hearing the information presented.

"Let me get this straight, you want to fire me in a single person drop pod into the center of a heavily armed rebel base, with next to no supplies, no support, and little chance of survival. Then, you want me to capture their leader, carry him to an extraction point four miles away without being followed."

"Yes, that is basically it." The empress said, her heavily ornate dress jingling slightly as she shifted.

"You know I'm going to have to ask Barnette if it's ok with her and the little one." He said.

"No one outside of this room is to know of this. The contents of this program are to remain in the strictest of confidence." She said, making her will clear.

"So then what am I supposed to tell her? Year, well, I got to go away for an undetermined amount of time to do something somewhere with someone and might not be back?" He retorted, the sarcasm positively dripping from the words.

"You will have to provide a convincing cover story." She replied back, ignoring the quip.

"Fine, I'll do it, but you're going to owe me big time."

"Of course, a shuttle will pick you up at noon tomorrow, have everything ready by then.

Jack walked into the house, and found Barnette sitting at a polished wooden table in the kitchen, finishing dinner with little Sophia. He threw a large orange envelope onto the table, and Barnette picked it up, and read the letters stenciled on it.

"THE SWORD OF THE EMPIRE: PROJECT ARBITER"

"Project arbiter? Does this mean what I think it means?" She asked, thumbing through the contents.

"Yep, now they are giving fancy names to suicide missions." He sighed and slumped into the empty chair.

"So you accepted?" She asked tersely.

"Yep."

"So two months, and already back to the killing?"

"Looks like it, but they decided to call me an arbiter now, so I'm basically a glorified mercenary, which means it will be well worth our while."

"Will it? you were missing from our daughters life for 5 years, and now your already to leave it again?"

"What will you be doing?" Sophia's small voice rose, wanting to know what her parents were talking about. Jack sighed, his daughter was just too damn smart.

"You've seen how the news reports have said that all is well and good in the empire right? Well, that is all just a ruse to keep most of the people happy and not worried. Well, I'll be acting as a sort of peace keeper, taking out the bad people that want to hurt us that are happy with the way that the empire is running. They will send me on mission that if they sent regular army people, a lot of them would be killed. Your mother and I, and even you, are special, and can do things that normal people can't, I can go and make it so that very few people have to get hurt, but it also means that I might be gone for long periods of time, or even gone forever." He had decided it was best to just tell her the truth, because if he lied, when she finally found the truth, it would do more damage.

"So you'll be going to stop all of the bad people from hurting us?" She asked, her eye's alight with pure curiosity.

"Yup, that's more or less what I'll be doing, what do you think?" Jack asked tentatively.

"If your going to save lots of people, I want you to go." She replied happily, neither of the adults expecting her approval. "Can I have some cookies now?" She asked, her tone shifting to pleading.

"Sure, but go and eat them outside." Barnette stated pulling down an odd shaped jar, handing it to Sophia, who then ran off gleefully. Barnette shook her head. "I don't think she really understands what you're talking about."

"She surprised me before, but I guess you could be right. So, how do you feel about this?" Jack said, his voice serious.

"Well, first off, what's with the name? Project Arbiter? Sounds like someone wasn't all the way awake when they came up with that one." She said with a sigh and a skeptical tone, sitting at the table.

"Arbiter: one who passes judgment, or in my case, just a fancy name for a mercenary. I like the sound of the word, and a few of the higher ups knew and used it to help make my decision a bit easier."

"So, you really might not come back." She said, matching his serious tone.

"Oh, come on, you know me. If you couldn't kill me, no simple grunt with a machine gun's going to. Besides, if one of them did, then you could, so you don't have anything to worry about." He said, his usual joking air returned. She flashed him a small smile. "I have to go get my stuff together, and then maybe, you and I could, you know, have a little alone time together?" He said in a cute way. HE walked out before Barnette could object, not that she had any.

THE END.


End file.
